1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to holders used to holster the wands utilized in coin-operated, self-service carwashes. More specifically, the present invention relates to the problem of "flying wand" or keeping the wand trapped in the holder so that fluid jetting from the wand nozzle when the wand is activated by the deposit of a coin will not cause the wand to suddenly fly out of the holder and strike the user. The present invention also relates to the problem of flexibility in the holder mounting to a vertical surface so that the assembly will not be damaged should the wand hose become snagged on a portion of the automobile as the car moves out of the carwash stand.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In coin-operated carwash stands the user is supposed to remove the washing wand or gun from its holder before depositing the coins, because when the coins are deposited the washing gun is usually automatically activated. If the user mistakenly deposits the coins prior to removing the wand, in most prior art holders, the gun is jetted or rocketed out of the holder under the pressure of the fluid then shooting out of the nozzle possibly causing injury to the user standing next to the holder.
One attempted solution to the problem has been to use a trigger actuated gun which controls a valve in the gun, but such wands or guns are very expensive in comparison to the standard wands and the inclusion of the trigger and valve produces a further source of maintenance problems.
There are to applicant's knowledge no known prior art patents directly related to the principles of utilizing either a fluid pressure actuated, mechanical friction-type brake in a carwash wand holder to trap the wand or a spring operated swivel mounting for the carwash wand holder.
Hangers to prevent fuel delivery nozzles from contamination from dirt and rain water with hooking systems to lock them into the hangers are known--e.g. U.S. Pat. No. 3,672,617 issued to E. Neyendorf, June 27, 1972 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,098,437, issued to E. Reinke, July 4, 1978--but these do not relate in any way to the problem of anchoring a carwash wand in its holder in order to prevent "flying wand".
Two basic safety holder designs are known in the carwash industry to prevent "flying wand". One involves the use of a manual release lever to fixedly trap the wand in the holder and the other involves the use of a special safety wand with a bell nozzle resting in two encircling clamps, with side slots on the holder. The former holder must be manipulated with two hands in order to release the wand, one pulling on the wand and the other manipulating the release lever. The latter holder relies on the principle of the bell nozzle hitting back up against one of the encircling holder clamps to keep the wand in place when fluid jets from the nozzle. This latter assembly is thus limited to the use of a specially designed safety wand. Additionally, because of the narrow side slots or openings in both encircling holder clamps through which the wand rod must be passed in order to be released while the wand is pressure jammed against the clamps, this latter device is also difficult for the user to manipulate. Both devices are also more costly than the present invention. Both of these devices are also rigidly mounted, so that if the carwash wand hose becomes snagged on a portion of the automobile after being washed while the car is being driven away, the wand and the holder can be bent or broken.
Prior patents showing various forms of devices having a spring-biased support to allow for resilient rotation about an axis under some externally applied force, usually an impacting one, are out-line below:
______________________________________ Patent No. Patentee(s) Issue Date Type of Device ______________________________________ 2,616,649 Grosse Nov. 4, 1952 rear view mirror 2,719,687 Hiscock Oct. 4, 1955 fishing rod holder 2,787,433 Slavsky, et al Apr. 2, 1957 sign 3,658,284 Hassle Apr. 25, 1972 mail box 4,093,171 Mengo, Sr. June 6, 1979 fishing rod holder ______________________________________
However none of these devices are of the type of device of the present invention, and are not analogous to the present invention.